debunk
verb
de·bunk
(ˌ)dē-ˈbəŋk 
debunked; debunking; debunks
: to expose the sham (see sham entry 1 sense 2) or falseness of
debunk a legend
debunker
noun
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To debunk something is to take the bunk out of it—that bunk being nonsense. (Bunk is short for the synonymous bunkum, which has political origins.) Debunk has been in use since at least the 1920s, and it contrasts with synonyms like disprove and rebut by suggesting that something is not merely untrue but is also a sham—a trick meant to deceive. One can simply disprove a myth, but if it is debunked, the implication is that the myth was a grossly exaggerated or foolish claim.
Examples of debunk in a Sentence
The article debunks the notion that life exists on Mars.
The results of the study debunk his theory.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sure enough, there’s a very easy way to debunk that claim.
—
Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
If this is the true face of the AI industry—a technological triumphalism that sees human thought as an inefficiency to overcome and human distinctiveness as a myth to debunk—the differences between the Church and Silicon Valley may prove irreconcilable.
—Elias Wachtel, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2026
Her daughter, Pallas, who co-manages Birchbark, says that the books lining the store’s shelves debunk the misconceptions that Native literature is stuck in the past or focused solely on hardship.
—Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Apr. 2026
After Kennedy defended his fringe view, Senator Bill Cassidy fact-checked and debunked Kennedy’s denialist arguments in real time.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debunk
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Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
If this is the true face of the AI industry—a technological triumphalism that sees human thought as an inefficiency to overcome and human distinctiveness as a myth to debunk—the differences between the Church and Silicon Valley may prove irreconcilable.
—Elias Wachtel, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2026
Her daughter, Pallas, who co-manages Birchbark, says that the books lining the store’s shelves debunk the misconceptions that Native literature is stuck in the past or focused solely on hardship.
—Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Apr. 2026
After Kennedy defended his fringe view, Senator Bill Cassidy fact-checked and debunked Kennedy’s denialist arguments in real time.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debunk
Cite this Entry
“Debunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/debunk. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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